VERSUS 
Howlers, this is going to be one of those times where I’m going to have to just repeat the info that the teams send out. Why? Well I’m typing with just my left hand. I seemed to forget that I’m 48 and not 18 and was playing street hockey before the games tonight with my seven and five year old sons. After unleashing a Dale Weise–esque blistering wrister on my wife in goal, it hit the crossbar and I ran after to get it. Unfortunately for me, I tripped on one of the Belgian block that line my driveway while chasing after it and fell. When I hit the ground I knew I was in trouble because I heard & felt it pop. It took me a few moments to be able to get up, and I knew it was broken. I had the wife call the ambulance and off to the hospital I went. X-Rays showed a fractured clavicle. Worse yet, it was my right shoulder…worse still, its the one I had operated on a couple of years ago and now the joint, which I had the surgery on is pretty swollen as well…last time I play with them…for this season anyhow.
Here’s Bruce Berlet’s take on the game:
It wasn’t an absolute must-win for two longtime rivals and American Hockey League playoff regulars, but it was about as close as it could get with less than four weeks left in the regular season.
The Wolf Pack, who have made the postseason in all 12 seasons in the league, and the struggling Providence Bruins, in the playoffs the last 11 years, were six and seven points out of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot entering their Wednesday night matchup before 2,244 at the XL Center.
The Wolf Pack fell behind early thanks to two defensive lapses, rallied to tie and then yielded Trent Whitfield’s wraparound winner off a giveaway by Anders Eriksson midway through the third period as the Bruins scored a 4-2 victory that enabled them to end a six-game winless streak (0-5-0-1) and move into sixth place in the Atlantic Division.
Kirk MacDonald’s second goal of the game into an empty net with 1:32 left assured the end of the Wolf Pack’s first two-game winning streak since back-to-back wins over the Bruins on Jan. 10 and 16 after a season-high, seven-game winless streak (0-3-3-1).
“There are no excuses this time of the year,” said Wolf Pack right wing P.A. Parenteau, who assisted on Corey Locke’s goal and got the tying score. “We need everyone to show up, and that wasn’t the case. Everyone had a tough start, and as the game goes on, you need everyone, but there were too many passengers.
“You’re not going to win hockey games if you don’t have (20) guys playing their hardest and having your head into the game. It was the biggest game. We needed that game, and we didn’t get it. (The playoff chase) isn’t over yet, but there’s got to be some soul-searching from everyone on this team, including myself. It’s unacceptable to have a start like that in a game that big in importance.
“There’s a lot of stuff in that game that (ticked) me off, but that’s been the story of this team all season. There’s time left (to make the playoffs), but we’ve got to turn it around really, really soon.”
Wolf Pack goalie Chad Johnson (25 saves) said he was caught a bit off guard after Whitfield got away from Locke, stole the puck near the left corner from Eriksson, circled the net and swept the puck between Johnson’s legs.
“I saw (Whitfield) steal the puck, but I came across thinking he was going to stuff it,” said Johnson, who had won two in a row after setting a franchise record for goalies with seven consecutive losses. “I didn’t think he had that much time to really come around and wrap it around. I thought there was more pressure coming back, so he wasn’t going to have that much time to really sweep it. I just kind of misread it. I didn’t think he had that much time to make a play for the five-hole.
“It happened kind of quick, and I definitely had to kind of protect the right side for a shot in case he was going to cut back because I thought there were two guys down there, but Eriksson was kind of by himself.”
Johnson, who kept the Wolf Pack in the game for the first two periods, also said teams seem to be more ready at the start.
“We put on a little bit of pressure in the third period but didn’t create a lot of scoring chances,” Johnson said. “There were a lot of perimeter shots and their goalie (Dany Sabourin) played well. Obviously it was an important game for us, but I don’t think we played the way we should have played. We got a fair amount of shots (25), but I just don’t think we generated any good quality chances.”
Coach Ken Gernander was unhappy with his team’s lack of urgency as the Wolf Pack (28-29-6-5) fell into seventh place in the division and 11th place in the conference. They’re six points behind the idle Bridgeport Sound Tigers for the final playoff berth in the conference.
“It wasn’t the start we wanted, obviously,” Gernander said. “We fought back to tie it, but that’s no excuse for the start we had. Turnovers are something we stress all the time, but we’ve put emphasis on it lately. We want the pucks to go deep on all rushes or entries, and at the defensive and offensive bluelines, we want to make sure we get the puck out along the wall, not the middle of the ice.
“I thought we gave up a poor goal to put ourselves behind (at 3-2), then you know they’re just going to play defense, so it’s hard to pressure and generate when they’ve got the one-goal lead. Given them credit for taking away the middle of the ice, the most dangerous part, but part of our game plan was not to bring the puck into the middle of the ice unless you had tape-to-tape passes or offensive opportunities. But they just put it there and hoped. Any team can defend that.”
The Wolf Pack outshot the Bruins 4-1 in the opening 81/2 minutes but trailed 1-0 after Jeff LoVecchio passed in front to Levi Nelson, who beat Julien Brouillette to the puck and flicked it past Johnson high to the stick side on the game’s first shot at 2:23.
The Bruins (32-33-3-1) nearly made it 2-0 at 7:05, but Jeff Penner’s shot hit Johnson and went off the crossbar. But at 9:58, the Bruins did double their lead when MacDonald converted the rebound of Andy Wozniewski’s shot from the left circle.
Both teams had excellent chances late in the period, but the Wolf Pack’s Evgeny Grachev hit the post with 2:11 left and Johnson denied Jordan Knackstedt alone in front with 1:27 left and stopped Mikko Lehtonen on a 2-on-1 with 28 seconds left.
Johnson kept the Wolf Pack in the game early in the second period, stopping Ned Lukacevic’s bid on a 3-on-1 at 4:58, Lehtonen cruising down the slot at 6:42 and Kenny Roche alone 25 feet in the slot at 7:24. Roche had four goals and four assists in 14 games with the Wolf Pack earlier this season.
Given those reprieves, the Wolf Pack got to 2-1 on a power play when Corey Locke took a pass in the right circle from Bobby Sanguinetti and fired a high shot that went in off the post for his team-leading 28th goal at 10:37.
Johnson kept it a one-goal game with the Bruins on their second power play as he made bang-bang saves on Whitfield and Lehtonen with 4:42 left in the period.
The Wolf Pack picked up their pace early in the third period and tied it at 2 when Illka Heikkinen’s shot from the left point caromed off the end boards into the right circle to Parenteau, who one-timed a shot that beat Dany Sabourin to top near corner at 3:09.
But the Bruins regained the lead on Whitfield’s steal and conversion before MacDonald scored the clincher off an assist from Roche. … The Bruins scratched left wing Lane MacDermid, whose father Paul played 370 games with the Hartford Whalers in 1981-89. Lane, born in Hartford in 1989 while his father was in his final season with the Whalers before being traded to the Winnipeg Jets, has two goals and assists and leads all AHL rookies in penalty minutes (155) and major penalties (21) in 62 games. Paul MacDermid, a right wing, also was a tough guy in a 16-year NHL career that also included stints with the Jets, Washington Capitals and Quebec Nordiques. He finished with 116 goals, 141 assists and 1,303 penalty minutes in 690 NHL games. … The Wolf Pack’s season-high, six-game homestand continues Saturday night at 7 against the Springfield Falcons on “CT Youth Sports Night” in which the Wolf Pack will honor Connecticut sports teams and organizations of all age levels through the game.
If you want to read Bruce Berlet’s story at the Pack site, see it at Hartfordwolfpack.com. Our close friend, Gerry Cantelon has a story at eurohockey.net. A short story can be found at ProJo.com.
GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET
STANDINGS:
| TEAM | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | PTS | GF | GA | STK | P 10 | PIM |
| 1. Sharks | 67 | 41 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 87 | 234 | 205 | 0-1-0-0 | 5-4-0-1 | 1083 |
| 2. Pirates | 68 | 37 | 22 | 5 | 4 | 83 | 208 | 186 | 1-0-0-1 | 4-5-0-1 | 1229 |
| 3. Devils | 68 | 34 | 25 | 4 | 5 | 77 | 200 | 189 | 0-1-0-1 | 4-4-0-2 | 1262 |
| 4. Monarchs | 67 | 34 | 25 | 3 | 5 | 76 | 173 | 167 | 0-3-1-0 | 3-6-1-0 | 1007 |
| 5. Sound Tigers | 68 | 32 | 27 | 3 | 6 | 73 | 169 | 189 | 5-0-0-0 | 6-4-0-0 | 1535 |
| 6. Bruins | 69 | 32 | 33 | 3 | 1 | 58 | 184 | 195 | 1-0-0-0 | 3-6-0-1 | 1054 |
| 7. WOLF PACK | 68 | 28 | 29 | 6 | 5 | 67 | 187 | 211 | 0-1-0-0 | 2-4-3-1 | 1361 |
| 8. Falcons | 69 | 23 | 34 | 9 | 3 | 58 | 175 | 250 | 2-0-0-0 | 5-4-0-1 | 1461 |
LAST PLAYOFF SPOT STANDINGS:
| TEAM | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | PTS |
| 1. Penguins | 68 | 34 | 29 | 2 | 3 | 73 |
| 2. Sound Tigers | 68 | 32 | 27 | 3 | 6 | 73 |
| 3. Bruins | 69 | 32 | 33 | 3 | 1 | 68 |
| 4. WOLF PACK | 68 | 28 | 29 | 6 | 5 | 67 |
SCHEDULE:
Everyone except Milwaukee and Texas have the night off
SCOREBOARD:
It was not a good night at all. This was Hartford’s game in hand on Bridgeport who had the night off. Wilkes-Barre?Scranton beat Norfolk 2-1. They lost ground to all three teams they’re chasing. If the Pens and Tigers just play .500 hockey in the last 12 games, the Pack would need 19 out of 24 to get in. That means, just with the Tigers and Pens playing even, the Pack need to go 9-3-0 to get in. Realistically, they can’t lose more than one more game or they’re done.
Hamilton wins in a shootout over Adirondack 6-5. P.K. Subban had two goals in that one. Albany got a pair of tallies from Oskar Osala as the River Rats knocked off Worcester 5-3. Good pal and ex-Pack netminder Chris Holt did his best but nobody will stop Hershey this season. Hershey won 5-3. Syracuse shut out Manchester 2-0. Peoria beat San Antonio 6-5 in OT. Adam Cracknell had two goals and an apple, Lars Eller hat a helper hattie with for the Rivermen while Alexandre Picard had two pair, goals and assists. Brett MacLean had one of each and David Schlemko had a goal and two helpers.
NOTES:
* If you have yet to sign up for our new service to our readers on Twitter, you’re really missing out on the most extensive coverage of the Wolf Pack and Checkers you’ll find anywhere. In addition to keeping you posted here on all major news stories, visit www.twitter.com/howlingstoday for in-game coverage of both Wolf Pack and Checkers games. Please “Follow” us on Twitter.
LINES:
Byers © – Newbury – Weise
Dupont – Locke – Parenteau
Soryal – Crowder – Grachev
Brashear – Garlock – Couture
Eriksson – Sanguinetti
Brouillette – Potter
Heikkinen – Nightingale
Johnson
Zaba
(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)
SCRATCHES:
Andres Ambϋhl – Healthy Scratch
Nigel Williams – Undisclosed Injury – Day-to-Day
Steven Valiquette – Hand Injury – Season over
Michael Sauer – Shoulder – Season over
Mike Hoffman – Shoulder – Season over
Brent Henley – Knee – Season over
THREE STARS:
1. PRO – K. MacDonald
2. PRO – T. Whitfield
3. HFD – P. Parenteau
ON ICE OFFICIALS:
Referee:
Mark Lemelin (84)
Linesmen:
Glen Cooke (6)
Kevin Redding (16)
NEXT GAME:
It’s a TOTAL must win game as the Pack welcome Springfield. The best announcer in the AHL, Bob Crawford is on the air with the Pre-Game show at 6:30 with the puck dropping at 7:00.
To watch the game live, you can purchased it for $6.99 at AHL-live.
If you can attend the home games, they cost is as little as $10 a ticket, why not just go? For Ticket information call (860) 548-2000.
Too far away or can’t make it? Listen live at WTIC.com or from your cell phone or computer visit www.twitter.com/howlingstoday for complete live in-game coverage.
SCORE-SHEET:
Providence Bruins 4 At Hartford Wolf Pack 2 – Status: Final
Mar 17, 2010 – XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Providence 2 0 2 – 4
Hartford 0 1 1 – 2
1st Period-1, Providence, Nelson 6 (LoVecchio), 2:23. 2, Providence, MacDonald 11 (Wozniewski, Lukacevic), 9:58. Penalties-Parenteau Hfd (slashing), 12:05; Bodnarchuk Pro (holding), 19:56.
2nd Period-3, Hartford, Locke 28 (Sanguinetti, Parenteau), 10:37 (pp). Penalties-served by Lehtonen Pro (bench minor – too many men), 9:13; Couture Hfd (hooking), 13:59; Wozniewski Pro (holding), 15:40.
3rd Period-4, Hartford, Parenteau 18 (Heikkinen, Sanguinetti), 3:09. 5, Providence, Whitfield 17 10:43. 6, Providence, MacDonald 12 (Roche, Penner), 18:28 (en). Penalties-Newbury Hfd (holding), 0:40; Whitfield Pro (roughing), 11:14; Dupont Hfd (roughing), 11:14; Nightingale Hfd (high-sticking), 18:47.
Shots on Goal-Providence 11-12-6-29. Hartford 7-10-8-25.
Power Play Opportunities-Providence 0 of 4; Hartford 1 of 3.
Goalies-Providence, Sabourin 24-22-0 (25 shots-23 saves). Hartford, Johnson 16-15-2 (28 shots-25 saves).
A-2,244
MEANWHILE, DOWN IN CHARLOTTE
VERSUS 
CHECKERS WIN FIFTH STRAIGHT, EDGE ELMIRA IN SHOOTOUT
Munce Stops 35 Of 36; Schaeffer Scores Ninth-Round Shootout Winner
The Charlotte Checkers killed a four-minute penalty in overtime then made good with their ninth player in the shootout as they edged the Elmira Jackals, 2-1, on Wednesday evening in Upstate New York.
With the win, the Checkers match a season-best five-game win streak and sweep the season series with Elmira (3-0-0). Charlotte has now picked up points in seven straight games (6-0-1) and opens up a two point lead over Florida, with a game in hand, for second place in the division and fourth in the conference.
Special teams were a factor as the Checkers did not allow a power play goal against an offense that includes three of the top six scorers in the ECHL.
Ryan Munce stopped 35 of 36 shots for his fifth win in a row and now ranks third among all ECHL goaltenders with 21 wins. David Urquhart scored the lone goal in regulation, his first as a Checker.
Urquhart got the Checkers on the board first when he one-timed a pass from Steve Ward through traffic and past Jackals goaltender Julien Ellis. Michel Leveille picked up the other assist and the goal came at the 14:58 mark of the first period.
Midway through the second period, Munce lost his glove in a scrum and Urquhart was forced to intentionally knock the net off its moorings, resulting in a penalty. On the ensuing power play, the league’s leading scorer, Tyler Donati fed a pass over to Thomas Beauregard who had a wide open net. Munce, however, dove across and shut the door for one of many impressive saves on the night.
Late in the second, Elmira would tie the game on an odd-man rush. Donati and his brother Justin broke into the Charlotte zone on a 3-on-2 with Chaz Johnson. Justin Donati let a shot go and Johnson was there to fire the rebound past a helpless Munce.
With one minute to play in the game, the Checkers were assessed a double-minor high-sticking penalty which would extend three minutes into the overtime frame. Charlotte killed the entire penalty on several key saves by Munce and, after a scoreless two minutes of even-strength play, the two teams prepared for a shootout.
Aaron Slattengren, Leveille and Matt Schepke scored in the first three round of the shootout but Elmira eventually tied it on three of their own. Munce and Ellis forced a ninth round of shooters before defenseman Kevin Schaeffer ended it with a wrist shot to the top corner.
The Checkers (36-20-7) will travel to Reading tomorrow before returning on Friday to host Trenton. The puck drops at 7 p.m. and ticket information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting http://gocheckers.com/home/
Season tickets for the inaugural 2010-11 AHL season are now on sale and 40-game packages start as low as $200.
GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET
| SHOOTOUT | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elmira shoots first for each round. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Charlotte | Elmira | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Totals: | 4 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TEAM | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | PTS | GF | GA | STK | P 10 | PIM |
| 1. x-South Carolina Sting Rays | 66 | 37 | 17 | 6 | 6 | 86 | 226 | 200 | 0-1-1-0 | 5-2-2-1 | 876 |
| 2. Charlotte Checkers | 63 | 36 | 20 | 4 | 3 | 79 | 222 | 202 | 6-0-1-0 | 6-3-1-0 | 1337 |
| 3. Florida Everblades | 64 | 34 | 21 | 4 | 5 | 77 | 207 | 192 | 2-0-0-0 | 7-2-1-0 | 1160 |
| 4. Gwinnett Gladiators | 63 | 28 | 28 | 4 | 3 | 63 | 219 | 243 | 0-2-0-1 | 3-5-1-1 | 1025 |
NOTES:
* The Checkers are 6-0-1 in their last six games and 11-2-1 in their last 14 at home
* Ryan Munce has won five straight games, is 6-0-1 in his last seven starts and ranks third in the ECHL with 21 wins
* Matt Schepke leads the team with a +19 rating and is tied with Andrew Carroll for the team lead in goals with 24
* Carroll leads the ECHL with four shootout-winning goals
* David Marshall was recalled to the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League
LINES:
Taylor – Leveille © – Slattengren
Doig – Tkaczuk – Stefanishion
Carroll – Chabot – Schepke
Urquhart – Schaeffer
Berube – Hendrikx
Dowzak – Ward
Crane
Munce
Zemlak
(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)
SCRATCHES:
Randy Rowe – Recall in Lake Erie
Matt Ford – Recall in Lake Erie
Julien Brouillette – Recall in Hartford
Ethan Graham – Recall in Texas
Kenny Roche – Recall in Providence
Devin DiDiomete – Lower Body injury – 2-3 weeks
T.J. Reynolds – Undisclosed Injury – 2-3 weeks
Chris Snavely – Upper Body – 2-3 weeks
Trevor Glass – Back Surgery – Season over
Codey Burki – Undisclosed – Season over
Chris Chappell – Shoulder Surgery – Season over
THREE STARS
1. CHR – R. Munce
2. ELM – J. Ellis
3. CHR – K. Schaeffer
ON-ICE OFFICALS:
Referee:
Joe Sullivan (4)
Linesmen:
Ray King (39)
Matt Macpherson (83)
NEXT GAME:
Thursday sees your heroes looking for number seven against Redding on the road and then home Friday night for a tango with Trenton. Jason Shaya will be on the air both nights at 7pm.
For live in-game coverage from your cell phone or computer, we’ll have the action for you at www.twitter.com/howlingstoday.
You can always buy tickets for any Checkers game home or away at Ticketmaster.com.
Should you want to watch this very exciting team from the comfort of your computer chair, all Checkers games are available on B2Live.
SCORE-SHEET:
Charlotte Checkers 2 (SO) At Elmira Jackals 1 – Status: Final SO
Mar 17, 2010 – First Arena
Charlotte 1 0 0 0 – 2
Elmira 0 1 0 0 – 1
1st Period-1, Charlotte, Urquhart 1 (Ward, Leveille), 14:58. Penalties-Lepine Elm (holding the stick), 2:35; Turner Elm (tripping), 3:32; Doig Chr (hooking), 8:55; Slattengren Chr (roughing), 10:49; Berube Chr (fighting – major), 13:58; Lowry Elm (fighting – major), 13:58.
2nd Period-2, Elmira, Donati 36 (Donati, Johnson), 18:07. Penalties-Turner Elm (interference), 0:57; Urquhart Chr (delay of game – restricted area), 10:14; Proulx Elm (interference), 14:18.
3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Carroll Chr (double – roughing), 4:47; Dowzak Chr (instigating, fighting – major), 4:47; Connolly Elm (double – roughing), 4:47; Johnson Elm (fighting – major), 4:47; Lepine Elm (fighting – major, game misconduct – aggressor), 4:47; Slattengren Chr (interference), 7:43; Anderson Elm (roughing), 10:42; Tifu Elm (hooking), 13:51; Slattengren Chr (high-sticking – double), 19:00.
OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties
Shootout – Charlotte 4 (Slattengren G, Leveille G, Schepke G, Stefanishion NG, Carroll NG, Hendrikx NG, Taylor NG, Chabot NG, Schaeffer G), Elmira 3 (Dansereau NG, Donati NG, Beauregard G, Donati G, Korchinski G, Tifu NG, Proulx NG, Connolly NG, Johnson NG).
Shots on Goal-Charlotte 15-9-6-4-1-35. Elmira 10-16-7-3-0-36.
Power Play Opportunities-Charlotte 0 of 7; Elmira 0 of 4.
Goalies-Charlotte, Munce 21-13-2-1 (36 shots-35 saves). Elmira, Ellis 15-8-1-1 (34 shots-33 saves).
A-2,991
Comments (2)
The Prospect Parksays:
March 18, 2010 at 2:00 AMOh c’mon tell the truth Mitch. You wanted to drop the gloves on your wife thinking you was Donald Brashear only older, shorter, slower and whiter. She went Justin Soryal all over you and kicked your butt from Hartford to Charlotte and back.
That is the truth. OK, maybe the truth or at least everything that I could make up.
LI Joesays:
March 18, 2010 at 1:39 PMmitch – i thought you have a show business background. aren’t you supposed to break a leg not an arm. well i hope for a speedy recovery so you can continue to play sports with the kids. get well soon buddy.